The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-28

was not so much for the beasts that perish
as for our race thirst-smitten, desert-trav-
eled and simoon-struck. oh, my soul, weary
with sin, stoop and drink to-day out of that
Bethlehem well!
"As the heart panteth after the water
brook, so my soul panteth after Thee. o
God" You would get better understand
ing of this amidst the Adirondacks in sum
mer-time. Here comes swift-footed deer
The hounds are close on the track; it has
leaped chasms and scaled cliffs; it is tagged
out; its eyes are rolling in death; its tongue
is lolling from it's foaming mouth Faster
the deer, faster the dogs, until it plunges
into Schroon lake and the hounds can follow
it no farther, and it puts down its head and
mouth until the nostril is clean submerged
in the cool wave, and I understand it; "As
the heart panteth for the water-brook, SO
panteth my soul after Thee, o God.n Oh,
bring me water from that well Little
child, who has learned of Jesus in the Sab
bath school, bring me some of the living
water Old man, who fifty years ago didst
find the well, bring me some of that water
Stranger in a strange land, who used to
hear sung amidst the highlands of Scotland,
to the tune of Bonnie Doom" 1.-THE Star,
the Star of Bethlehem" bring me some of
that water. Whosoever drinketh of that
water shall never thirst. "Oh, that one
would give me drink of the water of the
well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate"
Again, this gospel WELL like the one
spoken of in the text is a captured well.
David remembered the time when that good
water of Bethlehem was in the possession of
his ancestors. His father drank there. His
mother drank there He remembered how
the water tasted when he was boy, and
came up there from play. We never forget
the old well we used TO drink out of when
we were boys or girls. There was some
thing in it that blessed the lips and refresh
ed the brow better than any thing we have
fonnd since, AS we think of that
dear old well, the memories of
the past flow into each other like crys'
talline drops, sun-glinted, and all the
more as we remember that the hands that
used to lay hold the rope, and the hearts
that beat against the well curb are still
now. We never get over these remin-
iscenses. George P. Morris, the great song
writer of this country, once said to me that
his song, "Woodman Spare that Tree was
sung in a great concert hall, and the
memories of early life were so wrought
upon the audience by that song that, after
the singing was done, an aged man arose in
the audience, overwhelmed with emotion,
and said, "Sir, will you please to tell me
whether the woodman really spared the
treew We never forget the tree under which
we played. We never forget the fountain
at which we drank Alas for the man who
has no early memories.
David thought of that we'll, that boyhood
well, and he wanted drink of it, but he
remembered that the Philistines had cap
tured it. When those three men tried to
come up to the well in behalf of David,
they saw swords cleaning around about it.
And this is true of this gospel we'll The
Philistines have at times captured it. When
we come to take u full, ld-fashioned drink
of pardon and comfort, do not their swords
of Indignation and sarcasm flash! Why,
the skeptics tell us that we cannot come to
that fountainl They say the water is not
thirsty now there is the well of philosophy,
there is the well of art, there is the well of
science" They try to substitute, instead of
our boyhood faith, a modern mixture.
They say great many beautiful things
about the soul, and they try to feed our
immoral hunger on rose leaves, and mix a
mint-julep of worldly stimulants, when
nothing will satisfy us but "a drink of the
water of the well of Bethlehem, which is at
the gate" They try to starve us on husks,
when the Fathers banquet is ready, and
the best ring is taken from the casket, and
the sweetest harp is struck for the music,
and the swifteSt foot is already lifted for
the dance. They patronize heaven and
abolish hell, and try to measure eternity
with their hour-glass, and the
throne of the great God with
their yard-stickl l abhor it. / tell
you the old Gospel well is captured we'll
pray God that there may be somewhere
in the elect host three anointed men, with
courage enough to go forth III the strength
of the omnipotent God, with the glittering
swords of truth, to hew the way back again
to that old we'll think the tide is turn
ing, and that the old Gospel is to take it's
place again in the family, and in the uni
versity, and in the legislative hall. Men
have tried worldly PHILOSOPHERS, and have
found out that they do not give any com
fort, and that they drop an arctic midnight
upon the death-pillow. They fail when
thereis dead chill in the house; and when
the soul Genes to leap into the fathomless
ocean of eternity, they give to the man not
so much as a broken spar to cling to. De-
pend upon it, that well will come into our
possession again, though it has
been captured. If there be not
three anointed men in the Lords
host with enough conservation to do the
work, then the swords will leap from Jeho-
vah's buckler, and the eternal Three will de-
scend-God the Father, God the Son, God
the Holy Ghost-conquering for our dying
race the way back again to 1.-THE water of
the well of Bethlehem, which is by the
gate" ''If God be for us, who can be
against usY IF God spared not His own
Son, but freely gave Him up for us all, how
shall He not with Him also freely give us all
thingsW "For ] am persuaded that neither
height nor depth, nor angels, nor principali-
ties, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come" shall take from us, into
final captivity, the Gospel of my blessed
Lord Jesus Christ
Again, the gospel well, like the one spoken
of in my text, is a well at the gate. The
traveller stops the camel to-day, and gets
down and dips out of the valley of the East,
some very beautiful, clear, bright water,
and that is out of the very well that David
longed for. Do you know that that well
was at the gate, so that nobody could go
into Bethlehem without going right past il
And so it is with this gospel well--it is at
the gate 1t is, in the first place, at the gate
of purifcation. We cannot wash away our
sins unless with that water | take the re-
sponsibility of saying that there is no man,
woman, or child in this house to-day that
has escaped sinful deflement. Do you say
it is outrageous and ungallant for me to
make such charge! Do you say. 81 have
never stolen--I have never blasphemed-I
have never committed unchastity--I have
never been guilty OF murder n / reply,
you have committed sin worse than bias
phemy, worse than unchastity,
worse than theft, worse than muir
der. We have all committed It. We
have by cur sin re crucifed the Lord, and
that is decide And if there be any who
dare to plead mot guilty. to the indictment,
then the hosts of heaven will be impaneled
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